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Make your own chalkboard key hook from a picture frame and some paint!

Do you ever feel like you’re running just to catch up with your own life? That’s how I’ve felt since about July. Between being a full time mom to a now toddler, part time teaching and having a house built, I feel like I’ve barely had a moment to breathe for the last 6 months. Hence, no posting for some time. Which makes me very sad… 😦

My husband and I starting looking for a house about a year ago, and all was going well until he decided that the only thing he really wanted was a brand new house. As in, built from scratch brand new. I wasn’t opposed to the idea, but I really need to not be living in our tiny apartment with the world’s tiniest kitchen and the world’s worst appliances. Seriously, 1 square foot of counter space, and a dryer that honestly takes around 5 hours to get a regular size load of laundry dry. Just what I need when I have a matter of a couple of hours a day to get anything and everything done. So the agreement was that we would go ahead with the building thing, but we had to have moved by the end of the year. Well, obviously that is not happening. 6 months in and we still don’t even have the drywall finished, with little to no explanation of why every stage is taking 3 times longer than we’re told it will. Building a house is not something I could ever recommend to anyone, and will definitely not be doing again.

On the understanding that we’d have moved by now, I starting working on some small projects for the house, so that we could actually make it feel like home when we moved in. One of the things I really wanted was a designated spot for keys, so I started looking on Etsy and found a bunch of picture frames that had been converted into key hooks. Since we’re spending (read: wasting!) all of this time getting the house done, I’m being very picky about styles and colors, and couldn’t find just the right one. So, in my usual fashion, I decided to do it myself. This is a pretty easy and quick project. The only time consuming part is waiting for the paint to dry. Of course, if you wanted a pin board instead of a chalkboard, it would be quicker again. Just take the glass out and then either add foam and fabric or cork, depending on the look you’re going for.

Bear in mind when you do this, that you’re painting on glass, so you’ll have to either use a primer, or use paint that will stick to the surface. My choice was to use multi-surface paint in place of a primer, since I have a couple of other projects that will need it. Just make sure the glass is really clean before you start.

Supplies:

Picture frame of required size (mine was 8×10)

Primer or multi-surface paint (skip if you use chalkboard paint for glass surfaces)

Chalkboard paint

Cup hooks (I used 1 1/4 inch)

Remove glass from frame. Clean thoroughly and cover with a coat of primer or your multi-surface paint. Allow to dry completely, then apply a second coat of paint, with brush strokes going in the opposite direction (horizontal if your last coat was vertical etc.), to ensure the glass is completely covered.

Repeat the 2 painting steps with chalkboard paint, making sure you let it dry completely between each coat, and you change the direction of the brush strokes on the second coat.

Measure the width of your frame, and make light marks at even spaces across for the number of hooks you want to use.

Screw in each hook, trying to keep them straight. You might need to use pliers for this, in which case be gentle so that you don’t bend the hooks.

Once the paint is completely dry, put the glass back in the frame.

That’s it! Now you have somewhere to hang your keys and leave messages in a place where they’re guaranteed to be seen.

If you give this a try, I’d love to see how it turned out! Stay tuned for more house-related projects, including the crocheted hanging basket to hold the chalk pens on one of the hooks.